PURPLE fingers – rather than green ones – were busy at a new school in Rugby to mark World Polio Day.
Pupils at St Gabriel’s C of E Academy in Houlton joined members of the Rotary Club of Rugby Dunsmore to plant purple crocuses.
The purple crocus has become a symbol of Rotary’s fight to end polio, representing the purple dye placed on a child’s finger in many countries to show they have been immunised.
Taya, Latoya and Hazel hard at work. 44.018.011.rug.jm2Hillmorton ward borough Councillor Kathryn Lawrence also got involved.
She said: “The children each had 30 crocus corms to plant at the edge of their playground and really enjoyed the afternoon.
“In assembly the next morning, the children learned about polio and the importance of the campaign. We hope to return next year and plant more purple crocuses.”
Across the country, nearly 2.5million purple crocuses were planted around World Polio Day, adding to the millions planted in recent years, which will bloom into a carpet of purple next spring.
In previous years, the Dunsmore club – with the help of schoolchildren – has planted purple crocuses in Dunchurch, Hillmorton and at St Cross Hospital.
It is part of the national Rotary campaign to End Polio Now.
Since Rotary and its partners launched the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) over 30 years ago, the incidence of polio has plummeted by more than 99.99 per cent, from about 350,000 cases a year in 125 countries to just 22 cases in 2017 in just three countries: Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria.
Visit www.rotary-ribi.org/clubs/homepage.php?ClubID=1681 for more about the Rotary Club of Rugby Dunsmore. The club meets on Tuesday evenings at Draycote Hotel.
